My husband is mad that I let my 16 year old son bathe our 2 year old daughter.

A mother shared a difficult experience involving her teenage son, her toddler, and her husband. While dealing with a severe migraine, she asked her 16-year-old son to help bathe their 2-year-old daughter. Her son gladly stepped in, but when her husband came home, he reacted angrily, accusing her of neglecting her parental responsibilities.

The argument upset the son and created tension within the family. The mother is now questioning her decision and seeking advice on how to address her husband’s reaction while restoring harmony at home.

‘ My husband is mad that I let my 16 year old son bathe our 2 year old daughter.’

Yesterday was one of those days when life just wouldn’t let up. By the evening, I was completely drained, struggling with a debilitating migraine. My husband was at work, and I was home with our two kids—our 16-year-old son and our 2-year-old daughter.

As I lay on the couch, trying to keep the pounding in my head from overtaking me completely, I realized that it was time for my daughter’s bath. I knew I couldn’t manage it myself, so I called out to my son. He’s a kind, responsible teenager who’s always been a great help with his little sister. I asked him if he could handle bath time for her just this once.

Without hesitation, he agreed. He adores his baby sister and is always eager to pitch in when needed. I was relieved—grateful, really—and I used that small window of peace to close my eyes and rest.

When my husband got home later that night, he found me on the couch, asleep. The first thing he did was wake me up to ask if dinner was ready or if our daughter had been bathed. I told him honestly about my migraine and how our son had stepped in to help with the bath.

What happened next completely blindsided me. He exploded in anger, his voice echoing through the house. “What were you thinking?” he shouted. “It’s not okay for him to do that unsupervised!” His tone was sharp, accusatory, and full of judgment.

I tried to explain that I was in no state to handle the bath and that our son had done a wonderful job, but he wasn’t hearing any of it. “Having a migraine is no excuse for neglecting your responsibilities as a mother,” he barked.

The noise woke up my son, who came out of his room, concerned. Seeing his dad berating me, he tried to intervene, telling him to calm down and stop yelling at me. But my husband was too angry to listen to either of us.

Since that night, things have been tense. My husband hasn’t spoken to me or my son. It feels like there’s a wall of silence dividing our family now. My son is upset, but he’s trying to stay strong for me. I feel caught in the middle, torn between defending the choices I made in a difficult moment and trying to navigate my husband’s anger.

I’m left wondering: Did I make a mistake? Was it really wrong to ask my son to help? How do I address my husband’s reaction and rebuild the peace in our home?

Here’s what the community had to contribute:

[Reddit User] −  Well now I wanna know if this is the first time ever that he has screamed at you.

MrsTickleMeElmo −  There are some deep issues at play here. I’d say ask you husband why he feels that way, but honestly it may just make him angrier. Something triggered him. Siblings bathing younger siblings shouldn’t be an issue. Gender should be irrelevant. Keep a close eye on other strange behavior from your husband though.

user92929292k −  He’s basically accusing your son of being a c**ep and saying he doesn’t trust him with your daughter.This is why people hate their step dads

[Reddit User] −  Did he give any more detail as to why he didn’t want your son to do this unsupervised? Because there’s various ideas I have, of course none of them excusing how he yelled at you, but some context as to why he’s so upset might make it easier to give a proper answer

[Reddit User] −  Is your husband also the father of your son? The age gap between your 2 children makes me think he might be his step-father.
How is the relationship between your husband and your son?

justanacquiredtaste −  I had a problem with “he woke me to ask if I’d made dinner or given our daughter a bath.” Wtf? He’s an adult and capable of seeing whether dinner is magically waiting for him in the kitchen and if not assuming he needs to feed his children/himself? Smh.

anomanderforPOTUS −  Um… I’ve been with my wife 15 years and I’ve never yelled at her. That s**t isn’t healthy

throwaway-name-taken −  I wanna ask. Does your husband have any older siblings, and if so, is the relationship strained or estranged in anyway? I asked because his stance on it not being okay may be coming from some sort of past abuse, possibly s**ual.

That’s my take anyway just at face value. Just thoughts from another survivor of abuse. Edit: before you upvote, check for OP’s response. Her husband is an only child, so my response is a tall order of bologna. Give you updoots to better responses.

RonnieRozbox −  If you try to sit down with him and have a conversation do you think he would get more aggressive than he already has?